The National Strategic Skills Audit
In April last year, the government published the policy statement New Industry, New Jobs, which set out the need for a more ‘active’ industrial policy to aid recovery from the downturn and drive economic growth. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills has been given an important role in the industrial activism agenda, providing intelligence about current and future strategic skills needs in England, delivered via a key publication - the National Strategic Skills Audit.
The National Strategic Skills Audit, which will be produced annually, provides a comprehensive and authoritative evidence base for government, providers, RDAs employers and individuals, informing their decisions about investment in education and training. It is the logical next stage in the development of a labour market needs-led approach to skills development: one that not only ensures that current demand is effectively met by the skills system, but also that future demands are identified, anticipated, shaped and stimulated.
The skills system will operate most effectively, in a way that maximises economic prosperity, if high quality information is available. This information needs to enable all parties to make well-informed decisions about which areas of the economy are likely to provide opportunities in terms of high employment and high economic growth, and about areas of likely skills shortage and deficiencies now and in the future. The National Strategic Skills Audit provides this in one comprehensive piece of labour market research and analysis.
The first National Strategic Skills Audit for England, Skills for Jobs: Today and Tomorrow was published in March 2010. It consists of two main outputs: Volume 1 (key findings), and Volume 2 (the Evidence Report).
Download Skills for Jobs: Today and Tomorrow - The National Strategic Skills Audit for England 2010 - Volume 2: The Evidence Report
Approach
Skills for Jobs: Today and Tomorrow presents a comprehensive synthesis of information from a range of evidence sources. It draws on evidence from a number of key strands of work:
- An initial national and regional LMI assessment drawing on a wide range of evidence sources including: The Labour Force Survey; The National Employers Skills Survey 2009; Working Futures 2007-2017; The UK Commission Employment and Skills Almanac 2009; The UK Commission’s Ambition 2020 report; the work of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)
- 25 sector skills assessment reports produced by each of the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) on the sectors they cover: These reports draw on a mix of national data supplemented by sectoral surveys and other information and qualitative interviews with key sectoral stakeholders.
- Six additional skills assessment reports focusing on the ‘emerging sectors’ identified in New Industry, New Jobs (BERR, 2009) produced by SSCs working collaboratively in appropriate ‘clusters’. These reports focused on: advanced manufacturing; professional and financial services; low carbon industries; engineering construction; the digital economy; life sciences and pharmaceuticals.
- Three additional skills assessment reports on three of the emerging sectors produced for the UK Commission by experts. These were: a report on strategic skills needs in the bio-medical sector, focussing on medical technologies and pharmaceutical industries, produced by the Institute for Employment Research (IER) at Warwick University; a report on skills needs in the low carbon energy generation sector produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC); a report on the financial services sector produced by PwC.
- A horizon scanning and scenario development report produced by the St Andrews Management Institute (SAMI): This report identifies key issues and changes taking place in the UK and globally which may impact on employment and skills over the long-term using horizon scanning techniques.
The diagram below illustrates these key strands and how they fed into the overall National Strategic Skills Audit:
Reports
THE NATIONAL STRATEGIC SKILLS AUDIT FOR ENGLAND 2010
Skills for Jobs: Today and Tomorrow Volume 1
Skills for Jobs: Today and Tomorrow Volume 2
If you would like to receive a hard copy of Volume 1, please email ukces@prolog.uk.com quoting the full report title, the reference number 00284-2010BKT-EN and a full postal address. Copies will be distributed free of charge whilst stocks last. Please note there is a two copy limit per person.
For a hard copy of Volume 2, please email ukces@prolog.uk.com quoting the full report title, the reference number 00283-2010DOM-EN and a full postal address. Copies will be distributed free of charge whilst stocks last. Please note there is a one copy limit per person.
Underpinning Evidence Reports:
Horizon Scanning and Scenario Development Report
Skills Needs in the Bio Medical Sector
Skills Needs in the Low Carbon Energy Generation Sector
Skill Needs in the Financial Services Sector
SSC Reports on Emerging Sectors
These reports can be accessed via the web pages of the relevant SSCs as follows:
Advanced Manufacturing Report (produced jointly by Semta, Cogent, Improve, Proskills and Skillfast-UK)
Professional and Financial Services Report (produced jointly by Skills for Justice, Financial Services Skills Council, SummitSkills, Skills for Justice, Asset Skills)
Low Carbon Industries Report (produced jointly by Energy & Utility Skills, Asset Skills, Cogent, ConstructionSkills, ECITB, GoSkills, Lantra, Proskills, Semta, Skills for Logistics, SummitSkills, Skill-fast-UK)
Engineering Construction Report (produced jointly by ConstructionSkills, Asset Skills, ECITB, Proskills, Energy & Utility Skills, Semta, Cogent, GoSkills, SummitSkills)
Digital Economy Report (produced jointly by e-skills UK, Skillset and Creative and Cultural Skills)
Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals Report (produced jointly by Cogent, Semta and Skills for Health)
SSC Sector Skills Assessment Reports:
These reports can be accessed via the web pages of the SSCs:
Asset Skills - Property, housing, cleaning and facilities management
Creative & Cultural Skills - Arts, cultural heritage and craft and design
Cogent - Chemicals and pharmaceuticals, nuclear, oil and gas, petroleum and polymers
ConstructionSkills - Construction
Energy & Utility Skills - Electricity and renewables, gas, waste management and water industries
e-skills UK - Business and Information Technology
Financial Services Skills Council - Financial Services
GoSkills - Passenger transport
IMI - Automotive Retail Industry
Improve - Please email Improve for a copy of the food and drink manufacturing report
Lantra - Environmental and land based sector
Lifelong Learning UK - Lifelong learning
People 1st - Hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism
Proskills - Process and manufacturing sector
Semta - Science, engineering and manufacturing
Skillfast-UK - Fashion and textiles (Report will be available from 1 April on the Skillset website)
Skills for Care and Development - Social care, children and young people
Skills for Justice - Justice sector
Skills for Logistics - Logistics sector
SkillsActive - Active leisure
Skillset - Creative media industries